LEBANON — In its first year on Miracle Mile, the Lebanon casino’s expansion paid off big, more than tripling revenues from the prior year and distributing over $1 million dollars to Upper Valley nonprofits.
In 2024, the former Lebanon Poker Room on the downtown mall, which had 36 slot machines, five gaming tables and three poker tables, brought in $7.72 million, according to data from the New Hampshire Lottery and Gaming Commission.
In 2025, Revo Casino and Social House brought in $26.13 million. The new casino opened its doors in Lebanon in mid-December 2024, unveiling 137 electronic slot machines, 10 gaming tables and five poker tables as well as a stage, radio studio, bar and restaurant.
Revo’s first year in Lebanon “surpassed expectations,” Spokesperson Tiffany Eddy said in a Thursday interview. In the first year, Revo estimates over 100,000 people went to the casino in Lebanon, Eddy said. She declined to say if the casino had any business goals or benchmarks for 2025.
“The casino’s been very well received in the local community and we’re definitely seeing an increase in visitors so that in turn bodes well for our charity partners,” Eddy said. “When we do well, they do well.”
In 2025, New Hampshire charities received $3.72 million from the casino and $3.96 million went to the state. Per state law, casino revenues are divided between the business, New Hampshire charities and the state, with the percentage for each depending on the type of game.
Of the $3.72 million Revo Lebanon sent to charities in 2025, $928,000 stayed in Lebanon and another $460,000 was distributed around the Upper Valley.
The remaining $2.33 million went to organizations based elsewhere in New Hampshire, including charities that work statewide such as the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the American Legion Department of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.
Of the 76 organizations that Revo sent funds to in 2025, individual allocations ranged from $14,200 to almost $68,000. The money went to a wide range of nonprofits including social clubs like branches of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Rotary and Lions Clubs, animal rescues, senior centers, advocacy organizations, community centers, arts nonprofits and public libraries.
To receive charitable gaming money in New Hampshire, tax exempt organizations first have to apply to the state Lottery and Gaming Commission. After the state verifies the charity, it can apply directly to casinos to become a partner.
Charities are assigned certain days — up to 10 days a year — for which they will receive a portion of the casino’s revenues. Under state law, casinos can split revenues between two charities per day.
Revo sees “plenty of interest” from charities looking to participate in the program and maintains a waitlist of organizations that do not fit into the schedule, Eddy said. The charity gives priority to organizations in and around Lebanon.
Revo has a selection committee that reviews applications and “considers a wide range of factors in evaluating each request,” Eddy said in an email. She did not address specific questions about the selection process.
A lifeline
City Center Ballet in Lebanon was one of two nonprofits that received $67,837 in 2025, the largest allocation for a single organization. The money is a lifeline for the organization, which has struggled severely since the pandemic, Marc Cohen, the treasurer and a founding member of the organization, said Thursday.
“I don’t think City Center Ballet would exist right now if it weren’t for” the money from Revo last year, Cohen said. He considered the size of this year’s allocation a matter of luck, especially since the ballet doesn’t advertise which days at the casino will benefit them, unlike some other organizations.
The nonprofit has always had “mixed feelings” about advertising its days at the casino because the majority of dancers are under 18 years old and advertising for gambling “seemed a little off.” But, Cohen said the program is still worth participating in.
City Center Ballet has received charitable gaming money since 2023. The first year, they received $8,600, Cohen said, and in 2024 the allocation jumped to $23,000.
The nonprofit fundraises for and puts on professional ballet performances in Lebanon in close association with the Lebanon Ballet School. It costs between $70,000 and $100,000 to put on a new show and performances don’t make that return in ticket sales, so outside fundraising is extremely important, Cohen said.
The Lebanon Ballet School lost many of its older and more experienced dancers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, they have struggled to find enough experienced dancers to put on professional performances and the nonprofit is “in a little bit of limbo” while dancers continue to train up, Cohen said.
Since last summer, the nonprofit has been “living off of” the money from Revo and using it to pay for their limited expenses such as rental fees to store costumes and sets. The charity currently has about $70,000 in cash in its bank account and is “nursing” those funds.
Unrestricted funds
In 2025, Spark! Community Center on Hanover Street received almost $67,000 from the casino. The nonprofit community center specifically serves community members with special needs and holds drop-in hours as well as regular events at the center or around the community like movie nights, karaoke and dance class.
Like City Center Ballet, Spark also uses money from Revo to help “keep the mundane going” such as paying for rent, utilities, other bills and salaries, Spark Board President Allison Flint said Thursday.
It is helpful to have unrestricted allocations from Revo that can be used for basic operations, Flint said. Most of the private donations and grants that otherwise support Spark are linked to specific projects.
The casino is a “major donor at Spark and our year would be much different” without the money, Flint said.
“They literally keep our center open so that anyone can drop in and spend an afternoon with friends or come in for the first time and make a new friend,” Flint said.
The casino has also been a great partner to the nonprofit, Flint added. The board had some “hesitation” about the program at first because of concerns about “the contradiction of a gambling casino and beneficial to the greater good,” but she said Revo “has really done a nice job of walking that line in a very positive way.”
The nonprofit has already been a recipient for 2026 and will receive funds raised between April 11 and April 20. Spark! held a “lunch out on the town” at the casino last week and participants played games like slots and blackjack.
“They’ve just been so kind and they’re interested in what we do as well,” Flint said. “I was really glad that we were able to go in last week so the participants could (…) have some fun.”
‘A little bit of a cushion’
Elsewhere in the Upper Valley, Revo sent $63,000 to the Claremont Senior Center in 2025.
The casino money is a “tremendous help,” to the senior center that is self-funded through membership fees, donations, fundraising, grants and renting out the facility, Executive Director Cheryl Bailey said. It’s especially useful when compared to other kinds of fundraising, which take more effort and draw on a limited pool of volunteers.
Bailey used the money to renovate the interior of the senior center, including painting, installing new lighting and replacing carpet that was original to the almost 30 year-old building.
The money also helps the senior center to offer free or low-cost activities to members on top of a $20 annual membership fee.
“It’s been very, very helpful for us because it allows us to be able to get things updated and done, but it also gives us a little bit of a cushion,” Bailey said.
‘A really good neighbor’
In addition to charities, a casino’s host community is allowed to act as a charity for up to 10 days per year. The city of Lebanon received just over $64,000 in casino revenue in 2025.
City Manager Andrew Hosmer said he put the money into the city’s unassigned fund to use as needed, possibly to offset costs for an infrastructure project.
“You’ve got to prepare for fluctuations in cost and the unforeseen circumstances you bump into on a project, so it’s always nice to have a little cushion there,” Hosmer said.
In general, Hosmer said Revo has been “a really good neighbor to people in the city” thus far.
In the first year, Hosmer said there was no increase in police activity associated with the casino, which he said, “speaks well of the operation Revo is running” and the management team.
“You always expect the police will see a little action whenever a place like that opens up, but in this instance their patrons have been well behaved and we don’t have any real spike in calls that are directly related to any activity at the Revo.”
